By Rupes
October 16 2006

Saracens won their 2nd game in the GP this season on Sunday, with a 55-23 rout of Bath Rugby. Featuring 9 tries in total (6 for Sarries), an entertaining game regularly went from the sublime to the ridiculous - at the end of the 80 minutes, both sides were left with lots to ponder. The first 10 minutes was a melee of Olly Barkley kicking to the corners for Bath and Sarries not being able to get out of their own half; Cobus had a penalty reversed for over-exuberant tap-dancing and Bath were 3-0 up. But that mediocrity gave us not a clue of what was to follow.

Sarries first try came just after the 10 minute mark, Bath kicking the ball to Richard Haughton who ran it back with both pace and strength to break tackles; a break from Ben Johnston (the first of his very productive afternoon) and the phases ended with Kameli Ratuvou going over in the corner after a suspiciously forward pass. A fine kick from Glen Jackson, 7-3 Sarries. The open nature of the game continued, with Bath full back Nick Abendanon crossing following a quick tap and go from Sarrie Old Boy Nick Walshe; 7-10 and Sarries' fans not knowing quite whether to expect the regular inconsistency or what would happen next.

What happened was that the score got worse before it got better - for those who have forgotten, Bath were 16-10 ahead after 28 minutes, further penalties for Olly Barkley (who had a top game for Bath) and Glen Jackson pushing the scores forward. Bath were struggling in the set piece, but had a slight ascendancy in the loose and this was reflected in the Saracens' penalty count. Despite this, Sarries looked dangerous whenever they put pace on the ball, the 10/12 Jackson/Johnston axis looking formidable. And a word for Premiership debutante Neil de Kock, who provided many with some 4th form humour ("A Kock in the hand is worth 2 in the bush", plus many, many more) but also a quick supply from which to launch rapid attacks from the back division. A Matt Cairns try, plus 5 more points from Glen Jackson gave the scoreline a slightly lopsided 23-16 look at half time.

And then the fun began in the form of the 2nd half. A Jackson drop goal was soon followed by a try for the forwards, a rolling maul travelling fully 20m before falling over the line and Kevin Yates emerging as the scorer. One for the purist who likes their 8 man rugby. Not two minutes later, Lee Mears took a leaf out of the "Saracens Lineout Moves When It's All Going T*ts Up" book and overthrew his jumper by about 6 foot up and 8 yards long; a fine catch, juggle and re-catch by Ben Johnston gave him a view of the line and that was that. A bonus point try and, before we knew it, a 40-16 lead. Bath were in absolute disarray and Sarries looked as if they would score every time they touched the ball - surely more would follow?

As it turned out, the inevitable substitutions disrupted the flow somewhat. Despite their chaotic appearance, Bath did try to put a few moves together and it took 5 minutes of determined defence (marshalled by the excellent Dave Seymour) to keep the home try line intact. Normal service was resumed though, with two tries from substitute winger Rod Penney taking Sarries over the 50 point mark for the first time in the league since Rotherham and the Luger Hat-trick. A final score of 55-23 was no more than Sarries deserved, a 5 point haul taking them to 6th in the GP.

There is no doubt that this was "a good day at the office" for Sarries, who thoroughly exposed the limitations of the visitors and took advantage during the 2nd half when Bath, in effect, collapsed. Whether other teams in the GP would have let Sarries score as easily and as often as they did is debatable, but I'd suggest that this level of performance is the minimum if Sarries are to be in contention for a Heineken Cup spot at the end of this season.

In a performance full of positives, from all 22 who played, it seems churlish to praise one player more than another. But in Dave Seymour, Glen Jackson and Ben Johnston, Sarries had 3 players who stood out. A word also for Simon Raiwalui, who has come in for a fair bit of (unjust, IMO) stick on this site. Obviously in charge today, he carried, passed, organised and more - everything that you would expect from an international captain. As he is such an important part of the Sarries' wheel, this can only bode well for forthcoming games.

And so to the ECC, with Glasgow and Narbonne first up. If Sarries play anything like they did today, then I'd hope we'd have 2 wins out of 2 come the end of October. And if the SSA trip to Narbonne is anything like as eventful as the one to Sale (is the plane taking a spare pilot?) then I reckon you may get there for about Sunday afternoon....

SCORERS: Saracens: Tries: Ratuvou (10min), Cairns (38), Yates (49), Johnston (51), Penney (70, 80). Conversions: Jackson (4), Laidlaw. Penalty goals: Jackson 4. Dropped goal: Jackson (42). Bath: Tries: Abendanon (14), Faamatuainu (76). Conversions: Barkley, Berne. Penalty goals: Barkley (5, 20, 28).

SCORING SEQUENCE (Saracens first): 0-3, 7-3, 7-10, 10-10, 10-13, 10-16, 13-16, 20-16, 23-16 (half-time), 26-16, 33-16, 40-16, 43-16, 48-16, 48-23, 55-23.

SARACENS: D Scarbrough; R Haughton (rep: R Penney, 67), K Sorell, B Johnston, K Ratuvou; G Jackson (rep: R Laidlaw, 73), N de Kock; K Yates, M Cairns (rep: S Byrne, 71), C Visagie (rep: A Liffchak, 72), I Fullarton, S Raiwalui, H Vyvyan (rep: P Gustard, 72), D Seymour, B Skirving (rep: K Chesney, 61).

BATH: N Abendanon; M Stephenson, T Cheeseman (rep: S Berne, 41), E Fuimaono-Sapula, J Maddock (rep: I Davey, 58); O Barkley (rep: P Travagli, 70), N Walshe; D Flatman (rep: D Barnes, 46), L Mears (rep: R Hawkins, 55; sin-bin, 69-79), D Bell, P Short (rep: L Mears, 73), D Grewcock, A Beattie, J Scaysbrook, I Feaunati (rep: J Faamatuainu 55). Att : 7,214

Referee : Sean Davey